Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday John Mooney, the journalist from The Sunday Times who uncovered the surveillance operation on GSOC went on RTE's "Prime Time" and announced that the Department of Justice and Equality was in crisis. I believe that the reactions of the Taoiseach yesterday and the head of the AGSI today demonstrate that this is undoubtedly a crisis of confidence in the administration of justice in this country and an enormous public distortion of facts by some of the highest offices in the land.

The Taoiseach yesterday announced that it is a requirement of the law that the GSOC report to the Minister for Justice and Equality in the event that something of unusual or extraordinary importance happens. This interpretation of the law is inexcusably wrong and the Taoiseach's statement represents an astonishing attack on the independence of the Office of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. While the GSOC may now regret not informing the Minister about the bugging, it is not now, nor was it ever, under any legal obligation to do so. The Taoiseach needs to make this absolutely clear to the public and he should apologise for this misleading intervention. As others have pointed out, section 80(5) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 clearly states that the GSOC "may", and not "shall", make reports to the Minister in certain exceptional circumstances.

In a further outrageous attack on the GSOC, the head of the AGSI has called for its chairman, Simon O'Brien, to consider his position. His call for the chairman's resignation followed from the Taoiseach's same distortion of the law that the GSOC had an obligation to make a report to the Minister for Justice and Equality concerning the surveillance operation they uncovered. Clearly, it did not. The head of the AGSI also accused the GSOC of disrespecting Irish laws by not reporting the suspected crime to An Garda Síochána. This is again completely unfounded and misleading. Unless the GSOC suspected an offence had occurred that was a relevant offence for the purpose of the Criminal Justice Act 2011, which imposes duties on all citizens to report certain crimes, there was absolutely no legal obligation on the ombudsman to report the suspected crime. For the head of the AGSI to come out and call for his head is a gross abuse of his public position and represents either a deliberate or ignorant distortion of Irish law.

The GSOC chairman may well have to account for his statements tomorrow at the Oireachtas committee hearing, particularly in light of the direct accusation on "Prime Time" last night by John Mooney that he did not believe GSOC's statement concerning the events that prompted the particular security sweep in the first place. However, the public statement by the Taoiseach yesterday, which was followed by the statement today of the head of the AGSI, has brought the independence of the GSOC into question. That is a serious situation in which we find ourselves. This is an abuse of, and an interference in, the workings of the GSOC and it is not the first time that members of the Government have tired to directly interfere in the work of independent bodies in this State. However, it is completely unacceptable. The flagrant public attacks on the independent institutions of our democracy represent an abuse of power like no other witnessed in recent times. I call on the Minister to ensure these attacks come to an end and to ensure the confidence of the entire Government as well as the Garda in the GSOC is clearly articulated in order that the reputation of, and public confidence in, the GSOC can be restored. That is what is required and I hope the Minister will ensure that happens.

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